Friday marks ten years since Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts were lost. They were returning from a 16-day mission, and were less then 20 minutes from home when the shuttle exploded and disintegrated on Feb. 1, 2003.

Astronomers hunting for Earth-like planets now have many places to look. A new estimate released Monday suggested the Milky Way galaxy is home to at least 17 billion planets similar in size to our planet.

Earlier this week NASA safely landed a robotic rover on Mars 350 million miles away. But on Thursday here on Earth, a test model planetary lander crashed and burned at Kennedy Space Center in Florida just seconds after liftoff.

Looking around our nation, it’s obvious that we need more heroines and heroes with Sally Ride’s brave and courageous character. Her inspiration and legacy must live on to create the heroines – and heroes – of the future.